OLGC Dinner at Capital Restaurant 首都酒家

We organized a get-together for our OLGC classmates at Capital Restaurant. Xueyi recommended it for its splendid Jiang Nan cuisine. :)

We left the ordering of food to Xueyi as she's the only one who had dined there. :D

The baked paper chicken came wrapped in aluminium foil. :))) There were ginger slices and corriander embedded in the chicken.

The roasted duck was pretty tender and the sauce enhanced the flavour. :)

This was the Sultan fish Xueyi craved for. : D It's love hate relations for this river fish. Honyi, Lin & I didn't enjoy it.

Xueyi satisfied her craving for 莼菜汤 too. Apparently, very few places have these sort of veg and Capital Restaurant is one of such few places.

There wasn't baby kai lan so Xueyi ordered 3 egg spinach.

Sonia enjoyed her bowl of Shanghainese crab meat noodles. :) She's a serious eater! :D

As for dessert, it's egg tarts; complimentary from Xinyan! Woohoo! ^.*

Details of Capital Restaurant 首都酒家:
323 New Bridge Road
Bukit Pasoh Conservation Area
T: +65 6222 3938

Brunch at Marmalade Pantry

It was a rainy Sat morning and we couldn't bring Koka & Bubbles to Canopy for brekkie. The two cuties were disappointed. :( Their owners however had a pleasant brunch at Marmalade Pantry.

There were 5 of us for brunch today: Shueling, Evonne, Xueyi, Lin & moi. :)

Ooo-la-la to a hearty brekkie! ^.*

Details of Marmalade Pantry:
Unit 03-22
Orchard Ion
2 Orchard Turn
T: +65 6734 2700

Catching Up with Travel Buddies

If only we could pack our bags and board the plane right now! : O The urge to go on a vacation is so strong! Why? Because we had so much fun catching up with our travel buddies this evening. ^.* Wendy couldn't make it today. :(

Let's see what she had missed out... :)))

Fried mee tae mak - there was already plenty of bean sprouts & fish cake slices in them. You may further add prawns & or hae bee hiam (dried shrimp paste) to your mee tae mak. :) Mom, Beanie & Xueyi love hae bee hiam as it enhances the flavour of their mee tae mak. But Lin & I can't appreciate it : I

 Xueyi loves veg and kueh pie tee hit all the right notes. :D

This is how I usually have my kueh pie tee:

Step 1: line the cups with eggs, prawns & corriander (to prevent the radish fillings from dampening the crispy cups)

Step 2: Fill the cup with radish

Step 3: Beautify with some eggs, prawns & corriander

How do you eat your kueh pie tee? :)

Desserts were an assortment of handmade Nyonya kuehs from Chinta Manis, a Peranakan Patisserie. Tina & Yahui gave the kuehs fingers & toes up! Lol! :)))

I wonder where our next group travel destination gonna be... :) Wherever it may be, I know it's gonna be AWESOME! :D

Lunch at Serangoon Garden Market

It's a walk down memory lane for Xueyi this afternoon. :) We did lunch at Serangoon Garden Market. ^.* She lived & studied here for a number of years before moving back to Hong Kong. 

The queue at Soon Huat's Pig's Organ Soup was long even though it's a weekday. : O Thank goodness we didn't have to wait that long. :)

Lin and I don't take pig's intestines, so we gave ours to Xueyi. She loves it! :D

Xueyi wanted white carrot cake, we wanted black. Hence it was white vs black. :) Which do you prefer?

Xueyi finished her satisfying lunch with a cup of tea with evaporated milk. :) Mm...

Details of Serangoon Garden Market:
49A Serangoon Garden Way

Hainanese Chicken Rice at Boon Tong Kee 文东记

Dinner tonite, was at Boon Tong Kee. :) Besides Hainanese chicken rice, Boon Tong Kee serves a number of other awesome dishes. Beanie likes their roasted pork very much! :D

The crispy beancurd was a hit! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. :) Xueyi & I like to eat them on their own while Beanie & Lin like them with some mayo. :)

Xueyi wanted baby kai lan but the restaurant didn't have any. So we ordered a plate of salted fish & bean sprouts instead. :) It went pretty well with the chicken rice.

The Foo Yong egg looked kinda different from the pic on the menu. This dish was average only. : I

Our all time fav, steamed & roasted chicken. Succulent & delish either way. :)

I managed to "snatch" some yums onto my bowl of fragrant chicken rice in the midst of photo taking. ;)

While we were swimming away our guilt after dinner, Xueyi commented: " 太好吃了！" Lol! :)))

Details of Boon Tong Kee 文东记:
W: http://www.boontongkee.com.sg/index.html

Morning Tea at TWG

Xueyi, Lin & I did morning tea at TWG today. :)

It's Happy Hour for us! :D Our tea selection for Thurs:
Lin - Happy Tea
Moi - Heart of Happiness Tea
Xueyi - Ceylon Tea

The Heart of Happiness Tea is actually this... *.* We bought some of these tea during our recent Shanghai trip too... I like how it blossoms into a pretty bloom once you add water into the teapot or teacup. :)

Xueyi loves TWG's salad and she cleared the plate like a bunny. :)

Lin & I love the scones, :)

the cream & gelee but not the raisins! :)))

Details of TWG:
ION Shopping Mall
#02 - 21
2 Orchard Turn
T: +65 6735 1837
W: http://www.twgtea.com/index.php

Mastery in Eating Kunning Fish ^.*

Xueyi's in Singapore for her easter school break. :) We cooked a plateful of her fav Kunning fish for dinner last nite! :D She cleaned the fish all the way down to their bones! Lol! :)))

Experiencing 跌打 for the 1st Time *.*

I did something which wasn't fun today. : ( After enduring weeks of pain in my shoulder and being only able to lift my left hand to a certain point, Yahui took me to a 跌打 she frequents. It was my first time going for 跌打 treatment and I was apprehensive & nervous. : I I'm clueless what's 跌打 is in English. If anyone could enlighten me on that, it would be perfect. :)

Lin and I were surprised how "antique" this place was! : O If I had my camera with me, there would be tons of things I wanna capture. Lol! :))) Lin took all the pics for this posting because I was having butterflies in my tummy. Thanks to the movies & shows I've seen over the years - the actor/actress usually screams when they go for 跌打 treatments. : O My threshold for pain is high but I'm unsure how high it can go....

I never imagined I would go to such a traditional place for treatment. But yeah, I did it today. : O

Hm...my shoulder did feel much better.... :)

Homestay at TonyMaryAlecia :)

Mary, Tony & Alecia hosted us at their cosy home during our 4 days in Shanghai. :) Every effort was made to ensure our comfort and we're so thankful for them! :D We have little gifts laid on our bed everyday, daily breakfast & home cooked meals.

And we have an entertainer who made us very happy everyday! ^.* She would run to me and give me hugs and when we were in Hangzhou for two days, she told her mom she missed us. :)))

This is Alecia's portrait of me! :))) Cute?

Tai Kang Lu 泰康路 on a Saturday Afternoon

It's a bad idea to visit Tai Kang Lu 泰康路 on a Sat as it gets really crowded and makes a leisure enjoyment of the art and crafts enclave tricky. Lin and I were there last Sat afternoon before going to the airport and we literally only walked one round and out. :( I did managed to capture some shots for memory sake. : I We'll check out the place again when we next visit Shanghai, but it'll definitely be a weekday instead. :)

We would love to browse the shops selling pretty stuff. :) But trying to pick up an item for closer look is difficult. You would have to wriggle your way through! Lol! :)))

You might be able to see some artists in action... :)

We didn't have the luxury of time to stop for tea... : (

 

Tai Kang Lu is one of the few Shikumen left in Shanghai. Unlike Xintiandi which appears neater & clutter free, Tai Kang Lu is unpretentious. You find cables, clothes & air-con units stringing above you. :) This is the charm of Tai Kang Lu isn't it? :)

Homeware Shopping at Hotel Equipmemt Corp - HEC 酒总大卖场

There's this place in Shanghai Lin & I absolutely love to go when we're in Shanghai. :) That is 酒总大卖场 HEC in Macau Road. This is a mega mart (4 storeys in total) for all kitchen applicances & dining ware! :D It's a must stop for us to stock up our dining needs, making home entertaining all the more enjoyable. ^.*

HEC sells everything you need from pots to frying pans to ladle to cutlery to plates, bowls, cups and bake wares to garden accessories! :D

We went there twice in four days! :)))) Alecia accompanied us on the second visit and she had fun sitting in the trolley with our precious purchase. ^.*

Take note, HEC accepts cash only. So if you wanna buy lots of stuff, please bring more cash! :D

Details of Hotel Equipmemt Corp - HEC 酒总大卖场:
345 Aomen Lu
上海市澳门路345号
T: +86 021 6276 1111
W: www.hec.com.cn

Blume Link Travels :)

I love how I'm able to work with flowers even when we're overseas. :) Mary asked us to  do a gorgeous floral arrangement for her friend, Anabela Mok's solo exhibition, Capture the Shanghai Moment at Montaigne Gallery.

So that was what we did last Friday nite! :D Alecia was our youngest and most serious helper to date! :) She made sure she cleaned all the leaves and they were free of dirt! Lol! :)))

We hope everyone loves Blume Link's creation. ^.*

Details of Blume Link:
W:www.blumelink.com

Montaigne Gallery:
No.87, Moganshan Rd, 200060
T: +86 021 6298 9766

Tasty Congee正斗粥面专家 at IFC

Mary, Lin & I headed to Tasty Congee at IFC for lunch after Alecia's performance. :) Mary likes Cantonese cuisine very much. :D

Mary strongly recommended Tasty Congee's wanton noodles! And yes, it was thumbs up! ^.^ The noodles were handmade in the restaurant itself. They were very Q. :) The shrimps in the wantons were fresh & succulent too.

Mary was in the mood for fish congee. It was so smooth! :)

Again, we ordered soup. This time round, fish meat soup with veg. Just as comforting... *.*

The five spices tofu was crispy on the outside & soft on the inside. :)

Details of Tasty Congee正斗粥面专家:

Rm. 9, 3/F, ifc Mall, 8 Century Avenue

near Dongtai Lu

世纪大道8号上海国际金融中心L3楼9室
近东泰路
T: +86 021 5012-3998